On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration signed off on a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and some immunocompromised people.
The FDA previously approved a single booster shot for immunocompromised individuals after a three-dose primary vacciation series.
The approval will make higher protection available for populations at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization, or death. According tot the FDA, “Emerging evidence suggests that a second booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine improves protection against severe COVID-19 and is not associated with new safety concerns.”
People over 50 with at least four months since their first booster dose of any approved COVID-19 vaccine are eligible. People 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise with at least four months since their first booster shot are also eligible.